E044: Do the Thing: How Bold Decisions Help Shape Your Story

E050: The Wedding Toast: The Stories We Live, the Echoes We Leave, and the Gift of Looking Back

What happens when a storyteller finds herself standing inside one of the most meaningful stories of her own life? As Lisa prepares to give a toast at her son's wedding, she reflects on the chapters that led to this moment, the promise she made years ago, and the people whose love, encouragement, and presence helped shape the story she's living today. In this special 50th episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa explores the power of storytelling beyond stages, books, and microphones. She shares why the stories we live matter just as much as the stories we tell, how love echoes across generations, and why gratitude may be one of the most powerful storytelling tools we have. In this episode: • Why major life milestones often bring our stories into sharper focus • The promise Lisa made after losing her husband and how storytelling helped her keep it • How love, encouragement, and example create echoes that become a legacy • The privilege of witnessing and celebrating someone else's story • A simple gratitude practice to help you appreciate the story you're living right now As you listen, take a moment to reflect on the people who helped write your story, the chapters you've survived, and the beautiful life that's still unfolding. Because your story matters. And every chapter counts.

E049: The Power of a Persistent Pitch: Until You Get a No, Your Pitch Is a Pending Yes.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares one of the most important lessons she's learned after securing sponsorships, partnerships, and collaborative opportunities throughout her career: the opportunities we want often begin with a simple ask. Using a recent travel partnership renewal as a real-time example, Lisa shares how a sponsorship opportunity came together after three polite emails, four years after the original relationship was established. The experience became a powerful reminder that persistence, professionalism, and relationship-building often matter more than having the biggest audience or platform. She also reflects on sponsorships that helped fund her nationwide DON'T WAIT Project tours, including partnerships that grew from a single local sponsor into larger opportunities because everyone involved benefited from the relationship. In this episode, Lisa explores: * why the first step to getting a YES is simply asking * the difference between being persistent and being pushy * how storytelling creates value for sponsors and partners * why mutually beneficial relationships matter more than free products or funding * how follow-up emails can lead to opportunities that might otherwise disappear * and how sponsorship principles apply to speaking, media, business, books, podcasts, and beyond Whether you're looking for sponsorships, speaking engagements, media opportunities, collaborations, or simply trying to open more doors in your business, this episode offers a practical reminder that many opportunities are waiting on the other side of a conversation. Sometimes the biggest difference between a no and a yes is the willingness to send one more email because until you get a NO, your pitch is a pending YES. To learn more about The Story Collective, Lisa's group program, send her a DM or an email. It's the first step toward bringing your next venture (and dream pitch) to fruition.

E048: Better Late Than Never: Why I Didn't Post This Week's Episode on Time (and Why I'm Good With It)

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares a first: after 48 consecutive on-time episodes, her weekly podcast didn't arrive on time. But the story isn't really about being late. It's about recognizing when something is finished but not quite ready, trusting your instincts as a creator, and understanding the difference between meeting a deadline and delivering something meaningful. Lisa share about her decision to scrap a fully recorded episode and start over when it no longer felt aligned with the season she was living. Along the way, she reflects on how life has changed in recent months—from selling her home and moving into a van to traveling, golfing, coaching clients, leading The Story Collective, and continuing to create content as it happens. This episode explores: * why consistency still matters when life gets busy * how priorities evolve as our lives expand * the difference between deadlines and timing * why creators sometimes need to trust their instincts * and how conflict often reveals the solutions we didn't know we needed If you've ever felt behind, overwhelmed, or frustrated by a timeline that didn't go according to plan, this episode is a reminder that progress matters more than perfection—and that sometimes it's better to get it right than to just get it done.

E047: Before, During, After: How to Create Transformation With Audience Psychology

*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-6a149c3f-ceb4-83e8-a7a0-d60c21d277a8-10" data-turn-id-container= "request-6a149c3f-ceb4-83e8-a7a0-d60c21d277a8-10" data-testid= "conversation-turn-6" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn= "assistant"> This week on Tell & Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw breaks down one of the most important communication frameworks she teaches inside The Story Collective: Before, During, and After. Most people prepare content. Great communicators prepare transformation. In this episode, Lisa explains why powerful communication has less to do with sounding polished and more to do with understanding the psychological journey of the audience listening. You learn: • Why Before, During, and After is about audience psychology, not talk structure • How speakers, leaders, podcasters, and entrepreneurs can create emotional and behavioral movement • Why the best conversations change something inside people while they're listening • How understanding your audience's "before" changes the way you communicate • The difference between sharing information and creating transformation Lisa also shares practical examples from interviews, leadership communication, and her Story Collective framework to show how one honest conversation can shift the energy in a room and move people toward clarity, action, and connection. If you speak, lead, coach, sell, create content, or simply want to become a more impactful communicator, this episode changes the way you think about storytelling.

E046: When the Dream Doesn't Go As Planned: Regrouping After Disappointment and Staying Focused on the Bigger Story

*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-68be34bb-cdc4-8329-b4c7-9732139231ad-0" data-turn-id-container= "request-68be34bb-cdc4-8329-b4c7-9732139231ad-0" data-testid= "conversation-turn-581" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn= "assistant"> In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares what happened when the van she had dreamed about for years turned out to be a HIUGE disappointment the moment she arrived to pick it up. After selling her home in just 15 days and preparing to begin a completely new chapter of life on the road, Lisa found herself standing in the middle of one of the biggest purchases of her life feeling deflated, exhausted, and suddenly unsure of everything she had worked toward. But instead of giving up on the dream itself, she regrouped. Through the story of the van—and the parallel story of how she persistently pursued the late actor and cancer survivor Robert Urich to write the foreword for her first book—Lisa explores the difference between a closed door and a redirected path. She also shares the unexpected ripple effect decisions sometimes create, including a life-changing friendship with Sound of Music actress Heather Menzies Urich, who later wrote the foreword for Lisa's second book and became one of the most important people in her life after the death of her husband. This episode is about: * regrouping after disappointment * staying committed to the deeper vision * understanding that setbacks are often redirection * and continuing forward when the original plan falls apart If you're in a season where something hasn't worked out the way you hoped, this conversation is a reminder that meaningful stories are rarely linear and sometimes the better version of the story is waiting just beyond the disappointment.